Externships

An “externship” is an unpaid position with a public interest, non-profit, or government entity (including judicial) that is completed for course credit. Generally, positions with private, for-profit organizations cannot be completed for credit.

The Law School has several externship programs available for students at all levels. Our externship programs give you the advantage of practical experience in handling actual cases and dealing with clients. Criminal clinical experience may be gained in externship programs offered in the office of the McLennan County District Attorney and the office of the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas in Waco. Federal judicial externships are available in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Waco Division) and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas (Austin and Waco Divisions).

You may also participate in several other externship programs, such as the Lone Star Legal Aid Office, where students assist poverty-level clients in legal matters under the supervision of a staff attorney. These and other externships carry two quarter hours of credit and require a minimum of 90 hours of supervised work. Several state appellate and trial courts offer judicial externships, and students may also participate in the Supreme Court of Texas and Court of Criminal Appeals externships which carry five quarter hours of credit and require approximately 225 hours of supervised work.